Former minister and founder member of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), V P Ramakrishna Pillai died on Tuesday evening at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. After a prolonged illness, he died at 84.
He was survived by his wife V Bhanumati, four sons and a daughter.
His body will be brought to Kollam and will be cremated at Ashtamudi at his ancestral house.
In 1987 and 1996, he was elected twice to the Assembly from Eravipuram in Kollam district. Pillai was the labour and irrigation minister under the E K Nayanar ministry from January 7, 1998 to May 13, 2001. He was RSP state secretary between 2008 and 2012.
For the last one month, he was treated for kidney ailment. He was away from active politics due to his ill health.
Pillai was born on 12 November 1931 at Edavazhayil at Thevally in Kollam. He was active in student politics and joined Kerala Socialist Party (KSP). Later, he joined RSP under the leadership of R Sreekantan Nair and T K Divakaran.
He served as the Kollam assembly in 1987 for more that 30 years and in 2008 he became the state secretary. Other than that, he was also served as district and central secretariat member.
Pillai was famous as VPR among party cadres. He had a significant role in the growth of RSP.
After his demise, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan sent a condolence message that he was a leader who had worked hard for the party’s unity. “He had always believed that RSP’s place was not among the rightists.”
